“She loves you”

In 1963 pop music undergoes a change.  Two songs by the Beatles in particular set the standards for what was to come in the 1960s.  The songs are She loves you (August, 1963)  and I wanna hold your hand.  The “Yeah, yeah, yeah” chorus in She loves you is discussed in the Wikipedia article.

As with many other songs, She loves you is a remarkable song  – the melody and the performance.  A few thoughts follow.

The song became the best-selling hit of any artist in the UK for 14 years.  It received the most airtime.

It begins with the chorus bursting in with fine drum work.  The main melody verse is repeated, followed by a bridge, reaching up to second bridge and topped by the chorus again.  Interesting that they decided not to have an instrumental in the middle of the song, one of the many innovations in their music.

I find the harmonies striking.  I can’t help thinking that they must have added more voice work after the first recording, because in that final memorable chord I would think that there are more than three voices.  The sheet music doesn’t even attempt to include the notes.  For me it is a jazz chord and, oddly, Lennon didn’t particularly like jazz.  Here one sees the mastery of the subtle art of close harmony.

The Wikipedia article on She loves you includes several anecdotes on the song, including Paul’s father complaining of the “Americanism” in “Yeah, yeah, yeah”.

I find it interesting to consider the moments of rhythm variation:  “With a love like that ( you know you should be glad)”.  This is echoed in the later song You can’t do that:  “Because I told you before (oh, you can’t do that)”.  This serves enrich the song texture, making it more complex. 

Finally, as a teenager, I agreed with my parents that many pop songs were shallow, dependent mostly on some catchy idea, something which could fade quite quickly.  I insisted that the Beatles were different.  They couldn’t handle that.

Today, sixty years after the Beatles emerged and 53 years after their break-up, not only does their music remain popular, but the number of trios, quartets, quintets and orchestras recording versions of the music keeps growing.

©  Will

http://www.will willtravel.wordpress.com

Bridgewater, Somerset West

June, 2023  

Source

Wikipedia “She loves you”  (an extensive article)

My photographic